His work seems to be all over the place if researching the informal economy. And somehow he makes some good arguments. He argues that the people in the so-called developing countries are entrepreneurs, BUT the laws don’t provide them with legal titles and legal rights.

If this would change, the people would be able to self-help.

Help to self-help is a major argument in development cooperation and policies, and pretty attractive, as the status quo is not touched: the privileges can stay where there are, and it is not a matter of sharing them.

and I just found a readable piece about Hernando de Soto and criticizing his role in the global economy of development cooperation.